Up at 5. She sleeps till 7.
Every dark morning has the same two victims: you, ripped out of sleep by a phone in a black room — and her, woken by an alarm that was never meant for her. The groan, the turned back, both of you starting the day slightly worse. This is a bedside sunrise that wakes only you. Thirty minutes before your time, your side of the bed fills with a warm glow that rises like a real dawn; your body wakes on the light, usually before any sound. If you're still out, a soft birdsong rises — quiet enough to stay on your side. She finds out what time you left by looking at the clock, not by being woken.
Made for whoever gets up first. Nothing on this page is sped up, invented or borrowed from a brochure.
Why two? Because once she's watched you get up without the alarm for a week, she asks for one. $69.00 for two is $9 less than buying twice.
From October to March the sun rises after you do. Every dark morning between now and spring is one you'll do the hard way, or with your own sunrise on the bedside.
Free UK delivery, tracked, 2–4 working days. VAT included, nothing added at checkout. If it doesn't do what this page says, send it back within 30 nights for a full refund.
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It was never the noise. It's the dark.
A phone alarm is engineered to be unignorable. That's why it wakes her too. But quieter alarms, vibrating watches and phones in the hallway all fail the same way: you're still opening your eyes in a black room at 5am, and your body is certain it's the middle of the night. Getting up is a fight.
Light changes the physics. Thirty minutes of rising glow tells your body it's morning before the alarm ever has to. You wake into a lit room, on your side, and slip out. The only thing on her side is the dark.
The morning, side by side
4:30 — a faint amber glow on your bedside. Her side: black.
4:50 — the glow is a soft dawn. Most people are surfacing by now.
5:00 — you're already up. If not, birdsong rises from quiet. On your side.
She wakes at 7, to her own alarm, having heard nothing.
How it works — three steps, no app
Thirty minutes of light, then a sound only if it's needed. That's the whole system.
Honest note: light wakes most people about nine mornings out of ten. The sound is there for the tenth. We never claim light-only.
Why not just a smart bulb?
It's the question in every thread, so here's the straight answer.
| The Sunrise Alarm | A smart bulb in the ceiling light | Phone alarm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it wakes | The person next to it — a glow on the bedside, not the ceiling | The whole room, both of you | Both of you, unpleasantly |
| Backup if light isn't enough | Built in — a soft sound that rises, on your side | None. You still keep the phone alarm | It is the noise |
| Weekends and changing shifts | Saved wake-up times, changed on the device in seconds | Editing app schedules every Friday night | Fine |
| Set-up | Plug in, set the time, done | Hub, app, account, automations | — |
| Sleeping side | Sunset fade-out and calm sounds with a timer | No | Notifications at 11pm |
Honest verdict: if you sleep alone and enjoy setting up apps, a bulb can work. If someone shares your bed, or you want it to just work every morning, this is why dedicated sunrise clocks still exist.
From October to March, the sun rises after you do. Bring your own.
In late December, London's sun comes up at 8:04. If your alarm is 5:00, you've been awake for three hours in the dark before the sky does anything. In summer you get up fine — same job, same bed, same you. The only thing that changed is the light.
So this isn't a discipline problem. It's a lighting problem — and those are fixable.
Why the £15 ones die in three weeks — and this one doesn't
We bought the cheap clones before we chose this one. They fail the same way: a dawn that jumps from off to bright in three steps, a speaker that crackles at low volume, and a power socket that works loose by the end of the month. The light is the whole point, and theirs isn't a sunrise — it's a light switch with a delay.
This unit is built from ABS and polycarbonate, the same materials as a decent kettle, around LEDs rated for 10,000 hours — about fourteen years of half-hour sunrises. The dimming is smooth from the first glow to full, because that smoothness is the mechanism. And it carries a 12-month warranty: if it develops a fault, we replace it.
What it won't do
Read this before you buy. If any of it is a dealbreaker, it isn't the right thing for you — and we'd rather you knew now.
It won't make you love 4:45am. It makes the ten minutes after it stop feeling like an ambush.
It won't replace sleep. If you went to bed at 1, a sunrise at 4:30 is still a sunrise at 4:30 — just a kinder one.
It won't wake a heavy sleeper on light alone every single day. That's what the rising sound is for. Nine mornings out of ten is our honest number.
It isn't silent if you sleep through the light. The sound stays soft and on your side, but a partner who sleeps very lightly may hear it. Most report years without disturbance.
It needs a plug socket by the bed. It's mains-powered on purpose: a battery that dies is the one morning that matters.
The specifications, in plain words
Never a number without what it means for your morning.
The exact numbers, if you like details
Sunrise simulation: gradual light rise before the alarm, duration adjustable (30 minutes by default) · Sunset simulation: light and sound fade out on a timer · Wake-up sounds: natural sounds with rising volume, plus snooze · Sleep sounds: 30 · Alarm memories: more than one · Display: multi-step dimming down to off · Bluetooth speaker · Power: USB, mains adapter · Body: ABS + polycarbonate · LED life: about 10,000 hours · Warranty: 12 months · CE certified
What's in the box
The Sunrise Alarm · USB power cable and mains plug · a one-page guide you'll read once. Set-up is the time, your wake-up time, and the sunrise length. About two minutes, no app, no account.
Questions, answered honestly
Why not just a £10 smart bulb?
Some people make it work, and we say so plainly. Three honest differences: a bulb lights the whole ceiling, so it wakes everyone in the room; it has no backup sound, so you still keep the phone alarm; and it needs its schedule edited in an app every time your week changes. This is a bedside glow with a built-in rising sound and saved wake-up times, and it's set up once.
Isn't this expensive for an alarm clock?
It's the price of a takeaway for two, used about 200 mornings a year. People keep good sunrise clocks for ten years and more. The £99–£199 brands do the same job with a fancier logo; the £15 ones do a different, worse job and then stop doing it.
I'm a heavy sleeper. Light won't wake me.
Agreed — light alone doesn't wake everyone every day. In practice it does the job about nine mornings out of ten, and on the tenth the natural sound rises until you're up. We don't promise light-only. We promise the wake-up stops being an ambush.
Will it break in three weeks like the cheap ones?
That's exactly what we bought this to avoid. Smooth dimming, a proper speaker, a socket that stays tight, LEDs rated for 10,000 hours — and a 12-month warranty. If it develops a fault, we replace it.
Is it a gimmick?
It won't change your life. It changes the worst ten minutes of your day — the ten minutes between an alarm going off in a black room and you actually being upright. If that's not worth £39 to you, don't buy it.
Will the light wake my partner?
It's designed not to. The glow is on the bedside, pointed at the sleeper next to it, and it starts as a dim amber rather than a white flash. The far side of the bed stays dark. People who share a bed report years of use without disturbing the other side; a very light sleeper facing the light may notice it, which is why the honest answer is 'almost never', not 'never'.
She gets up two hours after me. Can she use it too?
Yes — that's what the two-pack is for. Each device holds its own wake-up times, so hers is set to 7 and yours to 5, and neither alarm reaches the other side.
What if my wake-up time changes from day to day?
More than one wake-up time is saved on the device, and changing one takes a few seconds on the buttons — no app, no account. Set the sunrise to start 30 minutes before whatever time you pick.
Does the display glow all night?
No. The clock display steps down in brightness and goes fully off. The room is dark until your sunrise starts.
Where does it ship from, and is the price really all-in?
Free UK delivery, tracked, 2–4 working days. The price on this page includes VAT — nothing is added at checkout and nothing is owed at the door.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Send it back within 30 nights for a full refund. Email us with your order number and we'll send return instructions. We don't quibble about the box.
Who are you?
A small UK company that sells this one product. We chose it after testing the cheap clones and the £150 brands side by side, and a person — not a bot — answers support@thesunrisealarm.com. The Sunrise Alarm, 10 Charter Street, Leicester, LE1 3UD.
Try it for 30 nights. If the mornings aren't better, send it back.
Full refund within 30 nights, no quibbling about the box. 12-month warranty after that — if it develops a fault, email support@thesunrisealarm.com with your order number and we replace it. A person reads it and answers.
The Sunrise Alarm · 10 Charter Street, Leicester, LE1 3UD, United Kingdom
$39.00